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You are about to get married and just can’t seem to think straight, because that day when you say “I do”, is not far. Weddings are joyous occasions that mark the beginning of a brand new life for the two people who come together in this sacred union. Different cultures and regions may have different traditions and rituals, but one thing remains common to all – these occasions a time to celebrate.

Obviously you want your wedding day to be unique and remembered by all those who attend. Perhaps you are planning a beach wedding, or a trip to Hawaii, or maybe you want to exchange your vows in a hot air balloon, suspended in time, or maybe you’ve decided to have a private ceremony with just your very close and dear ones. Regardless of what your actual plans are, one thing is for sure – your marriage is legal only when you sign the marriage license and get your related legal documents.

While marriages may be made in heaven, we will help make the arrangements on earth. There is a lot of planning involved when it comes to making it a big success. There are things to do before the wedding, on the final day, and after the it.

Before The Wedding

So you have told everyone that you are getting married. It is now time to make a checklist of things to do. You will need to arrange for flowers and decorations, photography to keep your memories evergreen, reception halls decorated in the right themes to entertain those attending, wedding favors, gifts for your loved ones..the list goes on. You will also be keen on choosing your rings, eager to find the perfect honeymoon destinations so that you can make it a honeymoon to remember. How about the best man and not to forget the speeches!

You want to find the perfect wedding dress, shoes and attire in which to go away on your honeymoon.

Before the main function, your best friends will probably be busy planning a wedding shower for you with lots of gifts. Don’t forget the fun you will have as you have a last wild bash with your closest pals – what celebration is complete without a bachelor party or bachelorette party!

The D Day Dawns

On the big day , you will be the star of the show. Soon, you will be declared man and wife, joined in a bond that will last a lifetime, while all your guests look on, lovingly. Are you planning at the church, or at an exotic destination? There is nothing to match the grace of walking down the aisle, to the strains of sweet music, as you approach the altar.

As you can see – planning itself is exciting and fun, but you could easily get stressed out. Check out the wedding tips and ideas we have put together for you, to help you understand all the vital parts like invitations, wedding laws, favors, reception planning and plenty more so that you can handle it all with ease.

The best way to go about it is to start planning well in advance – remember your checklist – and enjoy yourself.

Photographers take their profession very seriously. No matter where they utilize their skills, they always do it masterfully. This is especially important when it comes to wedding days. A skilled photographer will know how to skilfully capture all the right (and even wrong) moments, even though you might have thought there was nothing to capture at some of them. While you are enjoying yourself, dancing or mingling, he will capture all the magic of one of your biggest days.

Every photographer has his own unique style, but he is also able to adjust his preferences so that they match yours to a certain degree. Choosing a good photographer is rather difficult: there are quite a lot of them listed even when you are being specific enough to mention towns such as Ashford, Sevenoaks or Tonbridge, as a quick Google search will prove. This Kent wedding photographer is often recommended to me and I have had the pleasure of meeting Jim personally – he’s a great guy. Otherwise, it’s not a bad idea to use your social accounts to scout around a little. Go through some wedding photos your friends shared on their profiles and see if you like some of those photos in particular.

Look at portfolios before you choose a photographer; choose the one who has that particular style that you would like to see in your photos as well, otherwise you will not be satisfied. This is quite important. Choose a style – think about what you want – a documentary, portraiture, some fine art or edgy photography, it’s all up to you.

Also remember that it’s your wedding, so do what you want. Don’t be constrained by tradition, rules, don’t let anyone push you around – not even your mother. It’s YOUR big day. A photographer who knows this will make sure that it really is your day.

Another important thing every photographer knows is that perfect photos take time. They don’t happen after as little as 10 minutes. Both the couple and the photographer should reserve a reasonable amount of time to take photos, and enjoy the time off, without anyone to jump in front of the camera – it’s just you, the happy couple, and the photographer. Relax, and enjoy. This is how perfect photos are made.

The photographer will also take time to get to know the couple before the wedding. It’s not a bad idea to talk to the photographer at the wedding venue of your choosing before the big day, as this will give him ample time to get familiar with the place, hear you out and listen to your wishes and expectations and offer some valuable advice on the best way to take the photos. The photographer will suggest when it would be a good idea to take the family photos and where the photo shoot will take place, and he will also tell you when he would like to take some more intimate photos with the bride and groom only. This is a good time to ask about how much time the photo shoot will take, so you can plan ahead and have everyone and everything ready.

The most important advice every photographer will offer you is that you should enjoy yourself and don’t get stressed out over small details. You will not remember them later anyway. The photos will stay forever, so smile, enjoy and have fun!

Wondering what kind of invitations to send out that will really dazzle your guests? Here are some fun ideas to get you on track to sending out your own really creative wedding invitations.

Printed Flowers

In case you are wondering what a printed flower is, it is essentially a flower (such as a rose) that has been tattooed with text on its petals. While you have likely seen these around in recent years, you may have yet to explore their possibilities as invitations to your wedding ceremony. This could get pricey if sent to a few hundred guests, but even just as an invitation to your bride’s maids it could be fun. Be sure your guests won’t be asked to present their invitation anywhere on the big day, as the flower may no longer display a readable message by that point.

Another option is a well made artificial flower. While sometimes less than elegant when presented as a full bouquet instead of the organic equivalent, as an invitation it could actually be really beautiful. It would also be sure to endure long enough to convey a properly legible invitation to your guests and better ensure they attend.

An important consideration here, whether natural or artificial, is the style of type chosen to be used in the text on the flower. A flower with beautiful calligraphic cursive is going to be a lot more appropriate and elegant than a flower printed with a blocky font like Arial. Lastly, you can always just wrap a paper invitation like a scroll around the stem of a flower with a ribbon to tie it for a really beautiful and classically elegant solution.

Photo Frames

Another fun option is a photo of the two of you in a small sculpted frame. Small is an emphasis here as this is supposed to be an invitation and a reminder rather than a new addition to their home. By .sculpted. essentially what is intended is just a frame in the shape of a heart or a frame carved with a wedding motif or similar.

It has the advantage of being really cute and fun and serving as a romantic reminder of the big day. It also has the advantage of not easily being tucked away into a stack of papers which could lead to missing the date. It can be a very affordable way to make some really gorgeous and novel invitations that will last beyond the ceremony.

Edible Treats

One more item that may be skillfully employed to liven up a wedding invitation is an elegant addition of an edible treat in a stylish and tiny box or even a beautiful wrapper. You may even want to make your shared last name into a custom brand name and logo to have printed on the box. Chocolates are a sure winner and your guests will likely love the concept and your delightfully tasty consideration.

Now that you have a few more ideas, hopefully you will easily design a wedding invitation that will satisfy your creative needs.

Making use of planning software is the most cost effective and convenient way of making the entire wedding arrangements as smooth as possible. Besides it also saves a lot of hard work and running around and ensures that the arrangements are made close to perfect.

Most couples find it increasingly difficult to hire specialized wedding planners as the fees charged by them is exorbitant and eats into the wedding cost. So the only convenient alternative available for couples at a relatively lower cost is online wedding planning.

How Beneficial Is Planning Software?

An online wedding plan available in the software is very detailed and covers every minute aspect including those, which you were not aware of.

It will ease your task of addressing invites. It will guide you with the wrong and right ways of inviting in a traditional wedding. You can also know which of your guests are going to attend your wedding and those who are not.

It helps you keep track of the wedding gifts and send thank you cards to the respective guests.

Through wedding planning software, you can have a list of people who have assumed different responsibilities for your wedding. Besides it helps you know who has assumed which responsibility so that you can follow up.

It will also help you keep a track of all vendors like caterers, photographers, florists, bridesmaids, groomsmen etc. Online wedding planning software has a list of contact information of all of them.

One last, but most important feature of the software is that it helps you plan a budget for your wedding and guides you with the right approach.

How To Select The Right Software

Good online software for wedding planning should include all the important features and cover all the aspects of wedding right from the selection of location to organizing the wedding reception.

While you select the wedding software, firstly check whether it has a calendar. Apart from keeping track of dates, it should also send you email or mobile reminders from time to time.

A good piece of planning software should also be able to coordinate various tasks efficiently. Check whether it can track invitations and the seating arrangements for the reception along with the presents gifted by the guests etc.

Most importantly, your software should be able to prepare a good wedding budget. It should monitor your expenses at each level. Good software should contain templates to guide you with creating invitations, choose wedding flowers, design centerpieces, take care of the decorations etc.

A wedding budget ensures that you spend as much as you have planned to. Weddings are always an expensive affair. Starting your work without proper planning will cause a total mess. If you are not sure how to prepare a budget, you can handover the task to an expert planner. However, always remember to follow it up strictly, so that you do not end up in debt or have to cut some of your plans later.

How To Plan A Budget?

To avoid hassle on your special day, you should make it a point to start your wedding planning by preparing the budget first. Firstly, you have to decide the amount that you and your parents can afford. Once you arrive at a figure, the next step is to find ways on how to get the best out of the available means. You should always decide your priorities. Chalk out the expenses that are the most important and cut down the expenses that you can do without.

While shopping for your wedding you need to do a lot of research and find out where you can get good bargains. Find out the areas where you can arrange a particular item by substituting it without spending. For example, your friend can shoot the video for you and your family can help to cater for the food etc. There is no hard and fast rule for preparing a wedding budget. You can plan either a small or a large budget. However, the ultimate aim should be to make the event special.

Determining The Budget

Location: If your budget is large, you can plan to wed at the most famous and spacious locations. However, you can consider open areas like parks or your friend’s backyard to cut down costs for a low budget.

Food: More care should be taken to provide good food to the guests irrespective of a low or high budget. Then the guests will appreciate it, and always remember the delicious food served, in spite of it being a low budget wedding.

Flowers: Before going for decorations, you need to shop around in order to find out which florist is providing wedding flowers cheap. Do not go for costly and rare flowers that need to be shipped from other countries. For a special wedding treat, consider flowers with text.

Music: Sometimes, a wedding without music can also be a great event. However, if you feel that music is a must you can choose music DJs instead of a live band.

Video shoots and photography: If you cannot afford a professional photographer for your wedding, you can ask one of your friends to click good snaps for you. Go for a video shoot, only if you are going to watch it often in future. Otherwise, it would be waste of money.

A carefully planned wedding budget will help you keep costs in control. If you are not too hot on organisation, consider automating the process with some software magic – it might just save on time and effort.